Selecting the Perfect Princess Cut Engagement Ring

Princess cut engagement rings offer an elegant, timeless look. Essentially, a princess cut diamond involves a square face and an inverted pyramid shaped profile. The cut was introduced in London in 1961 by Arpad Nagy and is the second most popular modern cut next to the round brilliant. When selecting an engagement ring, remember the four C’s: cut, colour, clarity and carat. These factors are essential to selecting a quality diamond ring.

The cut of a diamond refers to the design guide that was used to shape and polish the gemstone. This involves creating a series of symmetrical facets that are used to reflect light into the diamond. Selecting a well cut diamond for princess cut engagement rings is very important, as a poorly cut gemstone will lack brilliance. The best grades for a princess cut diamond are “True Hearts,” “Ideal” or “Premium.”

Body colour is determined by a trained diamond grader that compares a sample stone to a set of master stones. Practically no diamonds of gemstone size are completely perfect. The colour of a diamond is affected by its chemical composition as well as imperfections in the structure of the crystal. The normal levels of diamond colour are graded by letter from D (colourless) to Z (light yellow). A diamond in the F-I range looks lovely in princess cut engagement rings and you will be able to save significantly over choosing a gemstone in a higher colour grade.

Clarity refers to the existence (or lack thereof) of blemishes or inclusions in a diamond. Most inclusions do not affect the structural integrity of a diamond but do reduce its ability to reflect light. The Gemmological Institute of America rates the clarity of gemstones on a scale from Flawless to Included. For the most part, if a diamond looks unblemished to the eye, it will be suitable for an engagement ring.

The carat is a unit of mass used to measure gemstones. More often than not, selecting the carat of the diamond in princess cut engagement rings is dictated by budget. However, a good rule for selecting solitaires is the bigger, the better. When selecting a diamond that will be placed with other gemstones in a finished setting, be sure to coordinate so that the carat of the diamond does not dwarf the other gemstones.